Ozone
by Kalira69
Summary: The intensity of a storm over the desert wakes Shiro with unpleasant memories, but he never faces them alone. (Post-canon. Written for Sheith Positivity Summer Week, Day 3.)


Written for Sheith Positivity Summer Week Day 3 - Thunderstorm/Summer Rain.

* * *

Shiro jerked awake, heart pounding. He might have lunged to his feet, but Keith was a solid weight against him, on top of him - both restraint and reassurance. If Keith was still asleep the chances were that whatever had brought him awake in such a state, it was safely in his dreams, not his reality.

He sank back, closing his eyes and breathing to a slow count as he tried to force himself to relax, one muscle group at a time. Keith mumbled in his sleep, pressing his cheek a little harder into Shiro's shoulder, and Shiro smiled, tension bleeding away more easily.

Just as he thought he might be able to drift back to sleep undisturbed, a ringing _crack_ split the air and Shiro nearly jumped out of his skin. His breath came short and he realised he had thrown Keith aside as he bolted up to his knees. Keith's arm had fallen from its comfortable drape across his chest to loosely rest around his hips.

He rested his left hand on Keith's hair as he looked around, mind full of hulls cracking on impact and breached engines and powerful weapons firing. . . He smelled ozone, and he breathed deeper, flexing his metal fingers and calling up the energy that flowed through his right arm, scanning the room warily and trying to pinpoint the source of the scent.

"Shiro?" Keith said sleepily, arm tightening around Shiro's waist, then relaxing again. He pulled himself up to his knees as well and looked around, then turned back to Shiro. He smoothed his hand over Shiro's right shoulder and down his upper arm, stopping just barely shy of the seam between flesh and metal. "Love, you okay?"

Shiro shook his head - not a denial, but trying to shake off . . . whatever-

Another resounding crack was nearly swallowed up by the explosive sound that followed, and Shiro's nerves ratcheted tighter. The glow in his hand brightened and he raised it higher, held flat, like a blade.

". . .Shiro." Keith's voice was still soft, but more assured now. "Love, it's just a storm." he said gently, pulling himself up even more and feathering a kiss over Shiro's cheekbone. He shuddered, looking around at Keith and fighting down the remembered smells - metal, blood of a hundred kinds, Galra energy - that the sounds had brought up in his mind.

". . .a storm?" Shiro asked, his breath coming short, in shallow pants. "But it-"

"Shh." Keith soothed, wrapping his arms around Shiro's shoulders. He was warm and pliant - _Keith_ wasn't frightened, wasn't on alert, even with Shiro's panic waking him, even now he was fully awake - and he held himself close, though not in such a way as to obstruct Shiro from moving if he needed to.

"I. . ." Shiro shook his head again, harder this time. He closed his eyes - trusted Keith to watch, to know if there was a threat - and breathed deep. Ozone, fire, something sharp and tangy, dry heat, and of course the sweat and metal and warm, sweet scent of Keith wrapped all around him. "Storm." he said again, uncertainly.

"It's been a long time since you were on Earth." Keith said, slipping one hand down and stroking Shiro's chest. "And storms in the desert are loud and strong."

Shiro nodded understanding, relaxing a little. He realised that Keith had actually risen to stand on the bed to reach him comfortably, and folded his legs, sinking back down. Keith moved with him, kissing his shoulder and pressing nearer with a tight hug. The glow faded from his right hand slowly.

Then he slipped away and Shiro stiffened. "Come here, love. Let's go outside." Keith beckoned, smoothing one hand over Shiro's forearm and drawing him slowly out of bed.

Shiro followed tentatively, frowning. There wasn't much to Keith's little desert home, even with the little space they had already added on to it, and in only a moment they reached the front porch, sheltered under the roof that usually provided protection against sun, not rain.

Rain which now _pounded_ down on the desert sands. Shiro's eyes widened. Lightning flashed across the sky near-constantly, with more sounds like the sky splitting or the clash of fighter ships. The air was cold around them in the storm, colder than even night here usually was. He looked up at the crazed purple-blue-pink lines across the sky through the heavy curtain of rain, the roof shuddering just a little with each roar of thunder. The Garrison complex had been more sheltered than this.

"Only a storm, love." Keith soothed, wrapping his hands around Shiro's and resting his cheek against Shiro's shoulder. "They don't happen often."

Shiro nodded, shifting his arm away enough to wrap it around Keith, clasping his hand tighter. The air was even richer in ozone out here, but it was still reassuring - it truly was only Keith's beloved desert, though Shiro hadn't seen it this way before. Being _outside_ had helped, with the expanse of open sky - even filled with the storm - above them. He was awake and safe and on Earth. With Keith.

"Yes." Shiro sighed, rubbing his face and then wincing a bit. "Thank you. We- We can. . . Let's go back to bed."

Keith turned to face him and stretched up, kissing him softly. "All right." he agreed, then yawned as he sank back down onto his heels, wobbling a bit. Shiro smiled, turning Keith towards the door and nudging his lover back inside ahead of him, hands resting on Keith's slim, warm hips.

Keith looked over his shoulder with a soft-eyed smile, smoothing one hand over Shiro's. Every line of his body, every touch, and every look on Keith's face promised Shiro he was safe here, and never alone.

When he returned to their bed, Keith curled against him heavy and warm and safe, Shiro fell asleep quickly even with the storm continuing to rage around them.


End file.
